International Space Exploration: Mapping Comparative Readiness Levels Across National Actors

摘要

Introduction Exploring the vast unknowns of space is an ancient human aspiration. The same impulse that led nomadic tribes to seek out what was beyond the next mountaintop, and civilizations to traverse the seas in search of new lands, today animates governments, scientists, and citizens alike to pursue frontiers beyond our planet. Relentless curiosity, the quest for resources, the desire to expand knowledge, and a simple instinctive drive to push outward toward new horizons all combine to inspire space exploration. Alongside these, of course, are the motivations of the nation-state: competitive advantage, technological development, scientific understanding, economic growth, international prestige, and security enabled by command and control of the strategic environment offered by space.